It’s always nice to imbibe with a companion, so this month, we’re pairing up last month’s “Alcohol Across Cultures” chat with a companion piece on what to do (or not do) when drinking tea and other libations across the globe. So grab your potable of choice (potent or not) and please enjoy this special reissue of our second-ever episode, “Tea & Magnetic Pole Flips”, from March 2018! (Also: It appears that the topic of magnetic pole flipping has stayed in the news even five years later!)

This episode, Dean and Tom navigate the cultural dos and don’ts of drinking tea in Morocco, Japan, the U.K., and Argentina – not to mention coffee in Ethiopia, beer in China, and whiskey in Korea! And without even getting inebriated (or maybe they do, as it would explain a lot), they also broach the topic of magnetic pole flipping (not an Olympic sport) and its cultural implications. Get ready to imbibe this episode from a gourd with a silver straw, because, as we all know, “the best things in life are served in a gourd.”

Subscribe now! Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach them on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

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Dean may have neglected to bring sangria for this episode, but that doesn’t stop Dean and Tom from sliding into a spirited dialogue on Dean’s experiences with alcohol across countries & cultures: from gin amidst the dizzying dunes of Libya, to the “easy going down” caipirinha of Brazil (with subsequent lizard-negotiating), to early-morning Unicum in a Budapest boardroom, and much more. Plus, do Dean and Tom decide to push their limits after imbibing a few tequilas together in Mexico? Call us old-fashioned, but we know that you’ll have a happy hour (or 40-ish minutes) when you listen to find out!

***Don’t forget to subscribe to Dean’s Substack here for recent CultureQuizzes, updates on Dean’s next book, and much much more. It’ll definitely be worth a shot! (Okay, the alcohol puns end here!)***

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

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In this episode, Dean lights some powerful incense (can you smell it?) before recounting his travels through the massively multicultural nation of India, and exploring personal instances of cultural dissonance in Pondicherry and elsewhere. Plus, Tom points out the elephant in the corner (of a Hindu temple), and Producer Torin needs to know if Dean walks the walk there. Remember: Everything will be okay in the end, so if things are not okay now, don’t worry; you’re just not at the end (of enjoying this episode) yet!

***AND: Don’t forget to subscribe to Dean’s Substack here for the Pondicherry Journal, recent CultureQuizzes, and much much more!***

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com

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As Dean and Tom (metaphorically) cross the Rio Grande in this episode, they find themselves wading into the rich complexities of Mexican culture and identity – particularly, into the shifting impact of the historical figure La Malinche. Plus, Dean revisits his great Mexican cultural faux-pas, which may or may not have involved male genitalia; you’ll have to listen to find out! Then, don’t forget to read about Dean’s greatest-ever cultural faux-pas, and much much more, by subscribing to Dean’s Substack here (yes, this is a plug)!

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com

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Join us, dear listeners, as we celebrate FIVE YEARS since the launch of ‘Oops, Your Culture’s Showing!’…with a game show! In part one of this jubilant two-parter, Dean and Tom begin accessing their “brain castles” to recall what in the world (literally) they gabbed about in selected episodes over these past five years. We invite you to play along with them – AND, a quick reminder that ALL THIRTY-SEVEN PAST EPISODES are now up on our NEW YouTube channel here, for your listening (or re-listening) pleasure. Enjoy!

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

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Want more Oops Your Culture’s Showing!, but not too much? In this episode, Dean and Tom deliver just that as they comfortably wade into an exploration of how the Swedish ethos of ‘lagom’, which roughly translates as “just the right amount,” relates to Scandinavian, Dutch, and in some ways, Japanese cultures. Plus, after returning to fan-favorite segment Wordplay!, they can’t help but go a little overboard when briefly introducing new segments Analogy Hell and Therapy Time. We’ve already overstayed our welcome in this episode description, so we’ll simply encourage you to (calmly, cozily, relaxingly) dive in and enjoy!

(Here is the referenced ‘lagom’ article by Jonny Thomson on Big Think, from August 2022.)

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TWENTY-EIGHT episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

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New Zealand’s iconic prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has announced she’s stepping down in the coming days. In honor of her 5+ years of Kiwi leadership, we’re heading back ‘down under’ with a special reissue of our “Island Hopping: New Zealand” episode from November 2019. Enjoy!

We’re back with a special “island hopping” episode: between the North and South Islands of New Zealand! Dean and Tom dive into Dean’s recent travels along the stunning TranzAlpine railway, and to the hub of extreme adventure activities in Queenstown on the South Island (where Dean may or may not have bungee jumped in the nude). Then, they visit the All Blacks rugby team and the haka, as well as cultural dynamics between ancestral Europeans and the Maori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (Maori for New Zealand). Like the flightless kiwi bird – an icon of New Zealand – you’ll want to stay grounded in this episode!

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TWENTY episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Listen today to “island hop” with Dean and Tom! Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com

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Happy holidays, dear listeners! We’re doubling your dose of joy this holiday season with BOTH parts of our ‘two-part gleeful gabfest’ from Nov/Dec 2021, “Joy To The World!” – packaged together in this supersized, super-special reissue. Both episode descriptions are below, plus the link to our new YouTube channel (while on a plane ride or road trip these holidays, head there to hear or rehear our original episodes!). A very happy new year to all, and we’ll be back with new episodes in 2023!

PART ONE: What’s so funny? In this jolly episode, Dean and Tom gleefully gab about what is, and is not, considered funny across cultures – and how laughter can also be interpreted differently depending on where you are. Plus, Grammar Time makes a brief cameo! You don’t have to wait anymore for the punchline; it’s here for you. En-joy!

PART TWO: In the finale of their two-part gleeful gabfest, Dean and Tom continue to delight in the complexities of humor, language, and culture. Then, they elatedly explore similarities and differences in how joy is expressed communally across cultures, in Bhutan, Denmark, Brazil, and the U.S., and in birthday celebrations in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Happy holidays everyone!

Check out our NEW YouTube channel here (and/or the playlist below)! In honor of the pod’s upcoming 5th anniversary in late March 2023, we’re posting 2-3 of our original episodes, in the order they were released, each and every Wednesday into March. Our first TEN episodes are up now! If you haven’t heard them yet, or even if you have, head there & click Play today, and bring a friend along with you – thanks!

Have a cultural question or episode idea for Dean and Tom? Reach out on Twitter and Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com

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